Problems for pharmacists today

New pharmaceutical preparations are constantly being developed for every branch of medicine. Why? Isn^, t it time to stop?

Under no circumstances, say the specialists, it is essential to fill the gaps that still remain, and develop drugs for the branches that still do not have enough of them. We must also find ways of combatting drug resistance. This may take a long, a very long time to achieve. The end, in fact, is not in sight, not in the foreseeable future at any rate, for when viruses become immune to one type of drug, new ones must be developed. The treatment of tuberculosis, for example, which even now takes many months, involves the use of a whole series of related drugs, which are partly interchangeable.

A great aid in modern medicine is new, highly effective prostaglandin preparations, all the possible uses of which have not yet been fully investigated; they do not actually possess curative properties, but they stimulate the organism to produse the necessary substances with which to fight a disease. The greatest concern of pharmacists is to improve drugs and make them more active and easier to use, and to reduce their side effects. This is where biopharmacology, a new branch of medicine, comes in.

Biopharmacists found the ways greatly to increase the effectiveness of some drugs which have been in use for a long time. Micronisation, i.e. reducing the size of the grains of a drug to one-fiftieth of their original size by crushing, makes some of our most widely used drugs twice and even four times more effective. This means that a patient can take one, instead of two or four tablets, to achieve the same result.

By observing the movement of a drug through the body with sensitive instruments, biopharmacists are able to tackle several problems at once. How, for example, does the drug react with the digestive juices and bile as it is absorbed in the digestive tract? What relationship will it develop with the gastric juices, and with the bile acid produced by the liver? How do two, three or four drugs interact when taken at the same time? Slowly but surely, the biopharmacists are working out the best combinations in which ally drugs can be taken and compiling lists of medicines suitable for children and old people.

 

Vocabulary:

branch of medicine- отрасль медицины

to fill the gaps- заполнять пробелы

ways of combatting- пути преодоления

resistance- сопротивление

to achieve- достигать

not in sight- не виден

foreseeable future- обозримое будущее

at any rate- в любом случае

related- родственные, сходные

curative properties- лечебные свойства

concern- забота

effective- эффективные

reduce- понижать

grain- гранула, зерно

original size- первоначальный размер

crushing- дробление

instead of- вместо

to achieve- достичь

to tackle a problem-решить проблему

digestive juice- пищеварительный сок

bile- желчь

interact- взаимодействовать

ally drugs- составные препараты

compile- составлять, соединять

reducing-уменьшение, снижение

Упражнение 1. Find and read the sentences which tell about:

1.The reason of developing the new drugs;

2.The difficulty of developing the drugs;

3.A great aid in modern medicine;

4.The concern of pharmacists;

5.The ways found by biopharmacists to increase the effectiveness of some drugs;

6.The problems which the biopharmacists are able to tackle;

7.The way the biopharmacists are working.

Упражнение 2. Say whether the following statements are right or wrong. Correct them if they are wrong.

1.New pharmaceutical preparations are being developed constantly.

2.It is not essential to develop the new drugs.

3.When viruses become immune to one type of drug, new ones must be developd.

4.Prostaglandin preparations do not possess curative properties.

5.The greatest concern of pharmacists is not to improve drugs and make them more effective.

6.Biopharmacists did not find the ways to increase the effectiveness of some drugs.

7.Micronisation of a drug makes them several times more effective.

8.Biopharmacists can not tackle several problems with sensitive instruments.

Упражнение 3. Answer the following questions:

1. Why is it necessary to continue developing new druds?

2. Why is it difficuet to find ways of combatting drug resistance?

3. Which preparations are very important in modern medicine?

4. Why are these preparations important?

5. What have biopharmacists found?

6. What can make the drug more effective?

7. What may a patient do to achieve the same result?

8. What helps biopharmacists to tackle several problems at once?

9. What problems have been investigated by biopharmacists?

10. Why are biopharmacists working out the best combinations of drugs?